A Tale of Two Brothers
by Youkai-Sesshoumaru1
Summary: There is a big problem with the Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga, both of them are acting very strange, InuYasha goes to find Totosai to find out what's going on, when he runs into, guess who? Sesshoumaru. Very strange things happen, including an event none of
1. Chapter 1 Redone

A Tale of Two Brothers.

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Chapter1:

Kagome, InuYasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, were once again traveling through the country side of Japan, in search of the sacred Jewel shards. Shippou sat contently in the basket attached to Kagome's bike, humming and kicking his feet in the air, while Kagome pushed her bike along, walking in a pace even with that of InuYasha, whom was walking at the head of the group, as usual. Miroku and Sango walked a few paces behind the two of them, talking with one another about what would happen when eventually the Jewel was complete and Naraku was defeated once again. Miroku's wind tunnel would be gone and he would be free of the curse which Naraku had placed upon his grandfather, Sango would have her revenge on Naraku for all of her suffering, but something else concerned her. What would become of her little brother, Kohaku? With out the jewel shard imbedded in his back, he wouldn't be able to live, but as long as it was lodged within his back, he would always have the poison, which was Naraku's aura, inside of him, and that was something Sango wasn't sure she could bare. Kagome had made several attempts to engage InuYasha in conversation, but all of her attempts were met with either silence, or a remark which would indicate that he wasn't interested in continuing the conversation. 

She'd soon decided it was best not to badger him, lest she cause another argument between the two of them. Kagome continually looked over at InuYasha from time-to-time, often wondering if she should ask him if something was wrong, and wondering what he was thinking about. She sighed some and then decided it was better to just ask him before it drove her to the brink of insanity. She walked a bit faster and made it so she was right next to him before speaking quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "InuYasha, is everything all right? You seem…distracted…did something happen?" She asked a bit shyly. InuYasha snorted and bit and looked over towards her, not sure of how to tell her what he knew he needed to tell her. Kikyou had returned the night before, she had returned for the sole purpose of speaking to InuYasha, but it was nothing InuYasha had wanted to hear. 

Her words still rang clearly in his ears, as if Kikyou were speaking directly in front of him at that very moment. "InuYasha, stop you constant pursuit of me, I am not yours to have. Your life belongs to me, InuYasha, and mine to you, but that does not mean that I am yours to love. If you must love me, than you can love my hatred for you, and in return, I will love your condemned soul as it withers into nothingness." She'd vanished before he could speak to her, so he'd spoken to the darkness, and to himself. "Kikyou….I will give my life to you, and I will give you my soul, as well." Those words were a promise that he made to Kikyou, but he couldn't tell that to Kagome, he couldn't hurt her again as he'd done so many times before. "InuYasha? Are you listening?" Kagome spoke once more, bringing him out of the trance he'd fallen into as he remembered the night before. InuYasha shook his head briefly, then turned to answer Kagome. "Nothing's wrong, I was just…thinking about what's going to happen when we finally find Naraku and defeat him.." 

Kagome turned her head a bit, looking forwards to the road ahead of them. "Oh…all right." She said quietly, her eyes lowering a bit as she thought to herself. 'He's lying to me again…something is wrong, but why won't he tell me?' She was abruptly interrupted from her thoughts when Miroku shouted to them from behind. Miroku ran up ahead, followed by Sango who rode upon Kirara's back, her Hiraikotsu in hand. Miroku turned back and called to the others. "Kagome, InuYasha, hurry! There's smoke coming from the village ahead!" InuYasha had already began sprinting towards the village, and Kagome quickly mounted her bike and began peddling furiously. After a few moments, the group arrived in the village which was ridden with chaos. The ground was covered with blood, bodies hung from the windows of burning houses, horses neighed and reared up in panic as fire surrounded their stables and villagers were screaming in terror as a giant Bear Youkai ravaged their village. 

Kagome immediately stood from her bike, dropping it to the ground and she ran over to InuYasha. "InuYasha, I can sense a Jewel Shard from that Youkai! It's imbedded in his chest!" InuYasha quickly grabbed hold of the Tetsusaiga, transforming the sword into it's most powerful state and wielding it towards the Youkai. "I'll take this Youkai out in one swing!" He smirked and watched as the wind-scar wrapped itself around the blade of the Tetsusaiga, preparing to strike down the bear Youkai, and claim the shard it had imbedded within it's body. He then charged towards the Youkai, slashing directly towards the giant bear Youkai. The bright yellow glow from the energy of the wind-scar sparked and then erupted, sending the giant wave of power of the wind-scar surging through the ground and towards the enormous Youkai. Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippou watched on as the Youkai was enveloped in the wave of destructive energy. 

As the wind-scar surrounded the Youkai, absorbing it until it had vanished, the Jewel shard imbedded in it's chest began to glow brightly, the glow surrounded the body of the Youkai, and the glow from the wind-scar began to fade away into nothing. InuYasha's face, which had been filled with a look of confidence and arrogance, was soon filled with a look of shock and utter disbelief as the Youkai stood before the group of them, remaining unscathed, having not so much as a scratch on it. InuYasha turned his gaze towards the Tetsusaiga, looking at it as if the blade had just grown arms and hands and had slapped him across the face. 'What in the hell just happened? The wind-scar made a direct hit, that Youkai should have been completely destroyed!' He thought to himself. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts as his body was met full on with the massive claws of the giant Bear Youkai, sending InuYasha flying several yards back and onto the ground. 

Kagome turned and immediately ran towards InuYasha, kneeling down before him and placing her hands to his arm and shoulder. "InuYasha! Are you all right!? Speak to me!" She shouted, shaking him repetitively. InuYasha slowly opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his head. He turned and looked at Tetsusaiga once more, starring hard at it. "What's wrong with the Tetsusaiga? It didn't even effect that Youkai!" He shouted as he grabbed the Tetsusaiga once more. The blade of the Tetsusaiga began to pulsate, as it pulsed, it began to glow with a purple aura, becoming surrounded by sparks of black and purple demonic energy. Sango and Miroku, mean while, had been fighting the giant bear Youkai. Miroku found himself at somewhat of a disadvantage, as long as the Youkai had the shard of the Shikon no Tama imbedded within it, he couldn't use his wind-tunnel, for fear of sucking the Jewel into his right Hand. All he could do was attempt to plant Sutra's and Spirit-Wards upon the Youkai's body, while Sango continually hurled the Hiraikotsu at the giant beast. Kirara had begun attacking the Youkai as well, swiping at it's leg with her claws and sinking her large, saber-fangs into it's flesh. 

Shippou and Kagome remained beside InuYasha, watching in awe as the Tetsusaiga pulsated and glowed bright purple, it slowly began to float out of InuYasha's hand, and it hovered in the air. InuYasha could only watch in astonishment as the Tetsusaiga seemed to be reacting to something, but to what? Could it have been the Jewel inside the body of the giant Bear Youkai? The Tetsusaiga suddenly transformed back into it's most powerful state, and began to glow brighter, until it's blade was no more than a giant, purple glow. The Tetsusaiga then shot towards the bear Youkai, piercing directly through it's stomach and emerging from the other side. Sango and Miroku stood and watched, as the Tetsusaiga seemed to be waging a war against the Youkai by it self. The Youkai turned and swung for the sword, missing as the Tetsusaiga shot straight up into the air. To avoid the Youkai's massive claws. The Tetsusaiga then started flipping it self over and over, blade tip over hilt, acting as a saw. The energy around the Tetsusaiga surged and then shot several large, destructive masses of power at the Youkai, slicing through it's body, severing it's arms, and then, it's head. The Youkai fell forwards, crashing to the ground with a loud rumble, making the ground beneath the group shake and tremble. 

The Tetsusaiga began to stop glowing, then shot towards the ground at InuYasha's feet, impaling itself into the ground, blade-first. InuYasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippou gathered around the sword, looking completely astonished as the sword stood, stuck in the ground, as if it had never been touched. Miroku turned and looked at InuYasha, trying to calm himself a bit and regain his composure. "InuYasha, what just happened? How did the Tetsusaiga--" He was cut off by InuYasha as he replied in an aggravated tone. "How the hell should I know!? You think I'd look as confused as I do right now if I had any idea what the hell is going on!?" Miroku turned his attention back to the Tetsusaiga and examined it a bit more. Kagome placed her hand to InuYasha's shoulder and squeezed it a bit to get his attention. "InuYasha….maybe you should take the Tetsusaiga, and go see Totosai…I'm sure he'll know what's going on." InuYasha sighed a bit and nodded his head. "All right…I'll go see him." He reached his hand out to grab the Tetsusaiga, but yelped in pain and quickly pulled his hand back when it was met with a violent jolt of energy.

"OW! Damn it! What the hell is going on with my sword!? It just rejected me like it does to a full demon!" He rubbed his hand a bit, then growled in frustration. Kagome slowly reached her hand out, grabbing a hold of the Tetsusaiga's hilt. 'Good, it still isn't rejecting me..' She thought to herself as she pulled the Tetsusaiga out of the ground. InuYasha held out the sheath to the Tetsusaiga, making it easier for Kagome to slide the blade into the opening. "All right, I'm gonna go talk to Totosai… See you guys in a few days." He said, waving his hand slightly as he turned and began to walk in the direction of Totosai's volcano-top home.

Mean while, Totosai was currently speaking with another person, a person who had come with an ill-tempered attitude. "I want to know what is wrong with my sword, old man. You will tell me the problem, and then, you will fix it…" Totosai sighed and took the sword from the one standing before him, looking it over a bit. "So, you say it won't work for you at all? That you can't even hold it, correct?" The Youkai stood with a cold look upon his face, his arms at his sides as he awaited the sword-smiths answer. Totosai turned his attention back to the sword, examining it once more. "Hmm….Yes, this is interesting….I wonder if InuYasha is having the same problem with the Tetsusaiga." The Youkai snorted and took a step closer to Totosai, then sat down, folding his arms into his sleeves. 

"Do not trouble yourself with the problems of InuYasha, concern yourself with the problem that is before you, I want to know what is happening to the Tenseiga, and why it rejects me now, when it has never rejected me before." Totosai sighed and nodded. "All right, Sesshoumaru, as you wish." He turned and set the Tenseiga into it's sheath and then set it down. "But we will have to wait one day, I want to see if my suspicions are correct."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

It had been a little over a day since InuYasha had left the others and began his journey to the mountain of Totosai, he was now very close, only about an hours climb kept him from the home of the sword smith. InuYasha gazed upwardly towards the mountain slope. He sighed a bit, then began the long climb up, leaping from rock to rock, from ledge to ledge, grabbing a hold of what ever seemed to be strong enough to support him. He continued this for little over half a hour before becoming tired and running out of breath. InuYasha then leapt towards a large ledge on a side of the mountain, and sat down, catching his breath and resting for while. "Damn it….what the hell is going on with the Tetsusaiga? When I reached my hand out to grab it yesterday, it warded me off, like I was a full Youkai or something." He muttered quietly, looking towards the Tetsusaiga which lay dormant inside it's sheath. The memory of what had happened replayed it self over in his mind, again and again.

'I reached my hand out to grab the hilt…and then the next thing I felt was pain…hot, searing pain…' He thought to himself, as the image of the Tetsusaiga shocking him flashed through his mind again. 'The Tetsusaiga rejected me…the same way it rejected Sesshoumaru, and that other Youkai, the moth Youkai, Gautenmaru…' He sighed and looked at the Tetsusaiga for a moment longer, before standing once more. "Well, I guess I'll know what's going on once I get to the top of the mountain." And with that, he leapt up and onto another rock face, and continued his upward climb.

Sesshoumaru stood, becoming annoyed with the constant waiting that Totosai insisted upon putting him through. He turned, beginning to walk to the opening of Totosai's home. "I grow tired of this constant waiting, Totosai. I want to know what is wrong with the Tenseiga, and if you will not tell me, than I will take my sword to someone else." Totosai turned his head from the fish he'd been cooking, looking over to the white-haired Youkai. "Please, Sesshoumaru, have a little more patience, you should know the answer soon enough, your little brother has just arrived." No sooner had he finished, than InuYasha's voice could be heard calling from outside the entrance to Totosai's hut. 

"Hey, Totosai! I've got a problem with the Tetsusaiga!" InuYasha shouted as he walked through the entrance to the hut, only to be greeted with his older brother, Sesshoumaru, standing directly in front of him. "What in the hell is _he_ doing here!?" InuYasha shouted angrily, pointing a clawed finger towards Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru smirked slightly, remaining where he stood and speaking in his normal, arrogant tone. "Well, it's nice to see you again too, little brother." He swung his arm forwards, knocking InuYasha's hand away from his direction. "It's impolite for lower class weaklings to point at beings who stand above them in stature." He stated, sounding as cold as always. InuYasha growled and clenched his fists, the only response he could come up with through his blind rage was, "Shut the hell up, jack-ass!!" Sesshoumaru shook his head, seeming disappointed in what InuYasha could assume was meant only to mock him. "Well, little brother, I can only assume you are here for the same reason I am." InuYasha turned, walking past Sesshoumaru, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer. 

He noticed Sesshoumaru was carrying one-less sword than usual, and he assumed the sheathed sword that Totosai was holding was Sesshoumaru's Tenseiga. InuYasha grabbed the sheath of the Tetsusaiga and set the sheathed sword down onto the cloth on the floor of Totosai's hut. "Something's wrong with my sword, old man! It won't even let me touch it with out shocking me to ward me off!" Totosai nodded and reached out, grabbing the Tetsusaiga and unsheathing the sword. Totosai examined the sword for a while, then set it down and unsheathed the Tenseiga. Sesshoumaru walked over to the two of them, standing behind and slightly to the left of his little brother, watching as Totosai held up the two swords. 

The Tenseiga and the Tetsusaiga began to pulsate, reacting to one another, as if they were brothers speaking to one another. Technically, they were brothers. They were forged from two fangs from the same Youkai, and the Youkai happened to be the father of InuYasha and Sesshoumaru, the Youkai Lord, Inutaisho. InuYasha and Sesshoumaru watched as the two swords reacted to one another, pulsating and glowing, and then, they both stopped, becoming still, and motionless once again. Totosai merely nodded, as if he'd understood every 'word' that had been spoken between the two swords, he then turned his head towards InuYasha and Sesshoumaru and spoke. 

"You two, pick up your respected swords, and see what happens." InuYasha turned his head towards Sesshoumaru, looking to him briefly, then looking back to the Tetsusaiga when he saw that Sesshoumaru was not returning the look. InuYasha and Sesshoumaru both reached out and grabbed a hold of the hilts of their swords. InuYasha was rewarded with yet another yelp of pain when the Tetsusaiga sent it's Youkai-ward shocking InuYasha's hand severely. Sesshoumaru's Tenseiga did the same, shocking him harshly, searing his hand a bit. Yet Sesshoumaru, being the more dignified of the two brothers, merely set the sword down and examined his hand, then turned his gaze towards the Tetsusaiga, then to his little brother. "So, the Tetsusaiga has rejected you from wielding it, just as the Tenseiga has rejected myself." 

InuYasha responded with an annoyed growl and then turned his attention towards Totosai. "Well? Are you going to tell us what's wrong with the damned swords or not, old man!?" Totosai sheathed the two swords once more and handed the swords to their respected owners. InuYasha took the Tetsusaiga, and Sesshoumaru reclaimed his Tenseiga as well. Totosai then stood and looked at the two of them. "It is clear that the two swords have decided to reject you both, but the reason, I am not completely sure of. The best I can come up with, is that your father doesn't want his only two son's fighting with one another, the way you two are. It is my belief, that only a union between you two will put an end to the actions of the Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga. 

Simply put, the swords are like two brothers, brothers who are sick of fighting against one another. If you two can put an end to this fighting, then I believe you will be able to wield your swords once more. But Sesshoumaru, InuYasha, know this. Only a true union between you two, will stop the rejections of the two swords." InuYasha stood up immediately, his face red with anger. "DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT I HAVE TO TRY AND GET ALONG WITH _THAT_ JACK-ASS!?" He shouted while pointing at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru side-glanced at his easily-enraged brother and then looked at Totosai once more. "I'm afraid I have to agree with InuYasha, I find it unlikely that the two of us will be able to 'get along' as you're saying we must." Totosai shook his head and looked at the two brothers once more. "If you want the use of your swords back, then you must learn to stop hating one another, it is the only way, you must unify with each other, and stop the hatred you have for one another, now, I suggest you both get back to your respective groups, and then find away to try and get along."

A little over a Day later, InuYasha was once again with his friends, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippou, how ever, they were not alone in their journeys. Kagome turned her head, looking a bit nervously back towards Sesshoumaru, who was walking a few paces behind Miroku and Sango, with Jaken walking at his side, and Rin, whom Kagome didn't mind so much, being carried upon the back of Sesshoumaru's two-headed demon, Aun and Uun. She noticed Sango and Miroku were walking a bit faster than normal, most likely in an attempt to keep themselves a bit further away from Sesshoumaru is possible. Understandably, none of them trusted him, or his little toad Youkai, Jaken, but InuYasha had assured them, painstakingly, that it was the only way to get the Tetsusaiga and Sesshoumaru's Tenseiga, to work again. 

Kagome had informed InuYasha that they had collected the last Jewel shard from the body of the slain Bear Youkai and it was safely in Kagome's shard bottle. InuYasha had seem at least somewhat happier after hearing that, but it didn't last long, it seemed that the constant presence of Sesshoumaru had set InuYasha into a constant state of irritation and had made him a bit melancholy. Night had soon fallen, and the first of the arguments between the two brothers had begun. Sesshoumaru stood intone of his brother, refusing to allow him to go any further. "It's hours past sunset, we will stop and rest for the night." Sesshoumaru had stated, which only made InuYasha disagree and insist that they had to keep going. "It's not that late! We can keep going for at least another hour or two!" Of course, Sesshoumaru wouldn't allow it. 

"No, it's becoming late and I want Rin to be able to sleep, I will not have her walking around until midnight, just because you are infatuated with fragments of a broken jewel. We will rest for the night, and that is the end of it." Sesshoumaru had then walked past InuYasha and over towards Rin, who was fighting with all her will to keep her head up and her eyes open. Rin had tried her best to hide a heavy yawn as Sesshoumaru had approached her, but she'd failed at it. Sesshoumaru had lifted her up and into his arms, with a small protest from Rin. "Lord Sesshoumaru, I am not tired, we don't need to…" It was the last thing she could manage to say before she'd fallen fast asleep, her head leaning against Sesshoumaru's fluffy tail. InuYasha turned to the others and motioned for them to keep walking. "Come on, just because he needs to stop, doesn't mean we're going to stop, too!" He turned and began to walk again, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. 

InuYasha turned and looked to the hand, seeing that it was Kagome's. Kagome walked in front of him and then spoke quietly. "InuYasha, you said yourself, you can't wield the Tetsusaiga again until you and Sesshoumaru learn to get along with each other, and that won't happen if you keep fighting over things like this. Look, it is getting kind of late anyways, and I'm sure we could all use some rest. It's not like the world is going to end by tomorrow, we can keep going in the morning." InuYasha growled, then sighed reluctantly. "All right, fine. We'll stop here for the night." InuYasha, Kagome and the others walked over to where Sesshoumaru and his group were, and sat down. 

Kagome pulled out her instant-ramen packages and other food things. Miroku dug a small hole and he and InuYasha had filled it with leaves and twigs and broken branches and Kagome had used some paper and her lighter to make a fire. Sesshoumaru sat and watched with a look of interest as Kagome used the technologies from her era, stopping Kagome to question certain things she was using, such as her lighter, her cooking utilities, such as her quick-make cooking grill, and other objects as well. Kagome happily explained what they were and how they were used, and what they were used for. She'd never had these questions asked by InuYasha, and it was fun for her to be able to explain things to someone who was interested in the technologies they had in her era.

Sesshoumaru seemed to take great interest in the books she'd brought with her, books of history and geography were what most sparked his interest, and he spent at least an hour or more reading her history book, mainly reading the history of Japan, which was like looking to the future for him, reading about the first and second world wars, and reading about the new country which hadn't yet been discovered in her era, the country called "America." After a bit longer, the group decided it would be best for them to eat now and then get some sleep, it had grown late, later than the group had realized. Kagome opened her bag once more and got out her make-shift stove and her pot and some bottled water she had brought with her. 

She began cooking five large buckets of Ramen noodles, she had begun to make four when Sesshoumaru declined the invitation to eat with them, saying he was more interested in continuing to read the books Kagome had, but Kagome had insisted he eat with them, if nothing else than for the sake of trying to get along with his brother, InuYasha. Kagome set up a small, foldable table she'd brought with her, and set down five bowls onto the table, pouring parts from the Ramen buckets into each bowl. The group ate, Sesshoumaru remaining silent for the most part, he had no one to discuss anything with really, Jaken had taken to his bed over an hour ago, and Rin was fast asleep as well, and he wasn't exactly sure how welcome his conversation would be amongst his former enemies. He'd reached out with his chop-sticks to grab the last piece of shrimp in one of the buckets, when his chop-sticks were met by a tug, InuYasha had had the same idea that about the shrimp. 

The two of them locked glares with one another, keeping there chop sticks on the single piece of food, neither of them willing to let it go. Kagome, Sango, Shippou and Miroku all watched cautiously as the two brothers began exchanging words. "Let go of the damn shrimp, Sesshoumaru!" Sesshoumaru kept his cold gaze to InuYasha and responded in a dry tone. "It's impolite to speak to your superiors in such a manner, now release the shrimp." 

The argument was finally ended when the shrimp had broken in half, InuYasha getting the tail end of it, and Sesshoumaru getting the head end of it. The two merely grumbled in annoyance at one another and ate the now divided piece. Kagome sighed and shook her head, then leaned over towards Sango and whispered quietly. "I don't think those two will _ever_ get along." Sango nodded slightly in agreement and replied under her breath. "They may as well give up their swords if things continue at this rate." Sango and Kagome both nodded in unison, signifying their mutual agreement with one another. Kagome stood and looked over towards the two brothers, attempting to lighten the now edgy mood they had all just been put in. "Um, why don't we all get some sleep, I'm sure you two are both very tired from the trip to and from Totosai's mountain, and it's going to be a long walk ahead of us tomorrow." 

Sesshoumaru and InuYasha remained silent, still glaring at one another as they ate. Sesshoumaru was the first to stand, setting his bowl down onto the table. "Very well then." He turned and walked over towards Rin, Jaken, and his two-headed Youkai, Aun and Uun, and sat down, leaning back against a tree and closing his eyes. InuYasha growled in resentment of his older brother, then stood, setting his bowl down onto the table as well. "Fine, I'm going to sleep." He turned and walked over to a tree with a fairly low-hanging branch, and leapt up onto it. He lay himself back against the tree trunk and closed his eyes, and soon, fell fast asleep. Sango, Miroku, and Shippou helped Kagome clean everything and pack it into her bag before the rest of them also turned in for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

The group awoke early the next morning, Rin was the first one to wake, causing a bit of a ruckus as she attempted to wake Sesshoumaru. Her stomach was rumbling, and she didn't see any need to keep this to herself. When Sesshoumaru finally awoke, he'd taken a moment to realize where he was; he was in the company of his little brother and the group whom he traveled with. Sesshoumaru stood and looked down at Rin who was eagerly tugging at his pant leg and groaning while rubbing her belly. She let out a low groan of hunger and then spoke in a whiney tone. "Lord Sesshoumaru, may we please eat? I am so hungry." That was right, he'd remembered that she'd fallen asleep before having anything to eat the night before, of course she would be hungry by now, yet he had nothing to offer her, he'd always brought her back to his palace before hunger had set in on the child, so she had never had to go without eating, but it was different, if he wanted the Tenseiga to work again, he couldn't just leave and then return and expect his unreliable brother and company to still be here waiting for him.

Sesshoumaru sighed, then knelt down and hoisted Rin up into his arms. "Rin, I am sorry, but we cannot go back to the palace for food, can you wait until we reach the next village this morning?" Rin whined once more and shook her head, pouting as her stomach let out another grumble. Sesshoumaru was about ready to head back towards the palace to get Rin something to eat, when he'd heard the sound of Kagome's voice. Kagome had awoken when she'd heard Rin's whines and groans and had begun digging through her backpack. She looked up towards Sesshoumaru and Rin, smiling slightly as she spoke. "Uh, good morning. I guess I don't need to ask if she wants breakfast, I'll have everything ready in a few minutes, if you think you can wait that long, Rin." Rin grinned widely and nodded her head energetically. "Yes, miss Kagome, thank you!" She chimed happily.

Some fifteen to twenty minutes later, everyone else was awake and waiting for breakfast, InuYasha still seemed a bit cold towards the presence of his older brother, and made a point of staying away from him as much as he could afford to. He wasn't about to leave his friends and Kagome alone with his brother, because truthfully, he wasn't sure he trusted his brother not to kill them. After a few more minutes of toiling and cooking, Kagome announced that breakfast was ready, and that they could eat whenever they were ready. Rin, of course, was already half way through a bowl of noodles by the time Kagome had said most of this, and her hunger was soon satisfied. Kagome just smiled a bit nervously as she watched the child devour the noodles in what seemed like a matter of seconds. The way Rin had eaten the noodles so quickly, Kagome was beginning to have second thoughts about whether or not Rin wasn't at least partially Youkai.

'She at that whole bowl of noodles faster than InuYasha eats a bag of potato chips!' She thought to herself. She then remembered the incident from last night, the near-fight that almost broke out over a piece of shrimp. Deciding it would be better to avoid conflicts such as this, Kagome had asked InuYasha to sit across from her, and had asked Sango if she would sit across from Sesshoumaru, and she had asked Miroku and Shippou to sit between the two of them. All though, she wasn't sure at first whether or not asking Sango to sit across from Sesshoumaru was a good idea, a Youkai and a Youkai slayer sharing a table with another, she was more worried about that than she was about InuYasha and Sesshoumaru fighting, but to her surprise, the two of them seemed to get along quite well. They hadn't argued once at all, and at one point, had actually seemed to be enjoying a conversation with one another…Well, at least it had seemed that way with Sesshoumaru, not that his look had ever changed, he almost never showed any sign of emotion what-so-ever, but it at least appeared that he was tolerating Sango enough to carry on what seemed to be an extensive conversation.

After having eaten, cleaned and repacked everything, the group set off once again, searching for more shards of the Shikon Jewel. Sesshoumaru had little idea what interest InuYasha could possibly have in the Shikon Jewel, seeing as how he couldn't control himself as a full-blooded Youkai, and he obviously favored using the Tetsusaiga over using his Youkai abilities in a battle. He'd asked InuYasha what obsession he could possibly have with the jewel, yet he got no response other than "Shut up" or "It's none of _your_ business." Which was beginning to annoy the Youkai, Sesshoumaru, very much. Before Sesshoumaru could ask again, Kagome stopped him and decided it would be best to merely tell him that it was a sensitive subject and that it would be better to leave the matter for another time. This had aroused Sesshoumaru's curiosity even more, yet he saw the logic in the human girls reasoning, the two of them fighting was the last thing they needed if they wanted to be able to use their swords once again. After walking for a mile or so, InuYasha and Sesshoumaru both stopped in their tracks and looked at one another, as if having a conversation with their eyes and expressions. Sesshoumaru then turned his head, looking towards Rin and Jaken who had been riding quietly upon Aun and Uun. Sesshoumaru sent a cold, serious look towards Jaken and spoke harshly towards the toad imp. "Take Rin and go on to the next village, and hurry." InuYasha turned and looked towards Kagome, Miroku and Sango, his face filled with a serious expression and he spoke with a tone that suggested that danger was approaching.

"Something is in the air…something sinister, and it's coming this way." Kagome ran over towards InuYasha, followed by Miroku, Sango and Shippou, stopping in front of him. "InuYasha, is it Naraku? Is he coming this way??" InuYasha shook his head and looked up towards the sky, which was being filled with a dark cloud that was moving towards them, covering the entire countryside. "No…. this has a much worse feeling than Naraku has." Sesshoumaru began to walk forwards, his hand moving to grab the hilt of the Toukijin, InuYasha had made a motion to grasp the Tetsusaiga, but was reminded of his inability to use it when the sword crackled violently with demonic energy at the presence of his hand, he would have to settle for using his claws with this battle that was ensuing, and that might leave him at a large disadvantage. The sky had been completely filled with the cloud, which carried the sickening scent of human blood, and death, surprisingly, there was the scent of Youkai blood filling the air as well. InuYasha turned his head and looked towards the others, Miroku looked about as green as Jaken, no doubt the very presence of this evil aura was making him sick to his stomach, and Kirara looked as if she were infected with rabies of the worst variety, her eyes were becoming blood shot and her entire body was shaking with what was either extreme rage and battle lust, or pure fear. Shippou, naturally, had taken it upon himself to guard Kagome's backpack and belongings…from the inside of her backpack, of course. The group watched closely as the cloud began to swirl, black lightening cracked through the skies, echoing through out the countryside with a deafening roar, which seemed to make the very foundations of the earth tremble and shake in fear. Sesshoumaru grimaced, his face becoming cold and filled with a look of utter hatred and a lust for death, his eyes were turning red, as if he were about to transform, and his body was glowing with a bright blue aura. InuYasha turned and looked to his older brother, then called over to him with a tone of urgency. "Hey!! Sesshoumaru!! What the hell is going on!? Is this one of _your_ little friends!?"

Sesshoumaru gave no answer, he just snarled in the back of his throat and turned his head, throwing a glare of death towards InuYasha and his friends. InuYasha was about to speak once more, when he was overwhelmed with a sudden urge for death and battle, his body had begun to pulse, his eyes were flashing from red to normal, then to red again, something was forcing his transformation, but what, his mind was burning, his head felt as if it were going to split in two, and his reasonable side wouldn't stay in control long enough for him to try and make sense of any of this. His arms throbbed, which, in turn, caused his claws to extend to the point of double their normal length, becoming similar to razor sharp daggers. Kagome and the others could only watch, as the two brothers began to change. Sesshoumaru's face had become pale white and was becoming covered with a white, steel-like fur. His face had begun to alter, forming into a snout and a dog-like skull, his body was becoming larger, more muscular and more bulky, growing bigger and bigger.

His hands and feet had begun to form into paws, growing razor sharp, Youkai claws, the tail upon his body began to move backwards and had grown more taught. He was now at a towering height of near 20 feet on all fours, and he now boasted a large mouth, filled with razor sharp, spike-like fangs, covered with saliva that would produce a very poisonous toxin once it made contact with the ground. InuYasha, on the other hand, now sported two purplish-blue marks, one across each cheek, his eyes were as red as his Haori shirt and Hakama pants. His claws canine and fangs were at least double in length. His muscles had become a bit more broad and toned, and his face and eyes bore a sadistic and murderous look within them. The two brothers snarled angrily, turning from the cloud and then they set their gaze on the group of humans, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome. Jaken had fled with Rin by this time, moving as quickly as possible through the forest to escape the sinister aura, which had filled that half of the countryside. Kirara soon circled behind InuYasha and Sesshoumaru, her eyes had begun glowing blood red as well, and she carried a look that showed an open lust for blood.

Sango took a small step forwards, shifting her body to adjust for the weight of her Hiraikotsu, she held her free hand out, her expression filled with mixed emotions, emotions of anger, and of fear, the fear of having to hurt Kirara or InuYasha. She stuttered a bit at first, and then called out to her pet. "K-Kirara! What are you doing!? Come here Kirara!" Kirara merely snarled and bared her fangs at Sango's words, which caused Sango to recoil a bit, drawing her hand back and away from the three Youkai. Kagome took dropped her arrows and walked in front of the rest of the group, then stopped, and looked directly towards InuYasha. InuYasha snarled, baring his fangs, his claws beginning to extend to their full length as he glared at Kagome, his eyes filled with a murderous look. Kagome began to walk slowly towards him, then stopped directly in front of him and said quietly. "InuYasha…. Sit."

InuYasha's rosary began to glow brightly, pulling down abruptly on his neck to drag him face-first into the ground, then stopped, and shattered into pieces on the dirt ground. Kagome took a small step back, her face filled with shock and fear as InuYasha stood; with out a rosary around his neck, there was nothing she could think to do to change him back. Miroku quickly reached into his sleeve and pulled out several sutras' from his sleeve. He then threw the sutra's forward, plastering them upon the skulls of Kirara, Sesshoumaru, and InuYasha. The sutras' sent jolts of anti-youkai energy through their bodies. The Youkai's howled and writhed in pain, which only served to anger them further once the sutras' had worn out. Kagome backed up next Miroku and Sango, and lifted her bow and arrows off of the ground, she looked over at her two friends and asked with a great deal of urgency in her voice. "What are we going to do now? We can't fight InuYasha and Sesshoumaru and Kirara, we might hurt them, or worse, but if we don't do something, they'll kill us!"

Miroku scowled and turned to Sango and Kagome. "We've got no choice, we'll have to retreat for now, until we can find some way to help them!" The group turned, an as they were about to run, the dark cloud in the sky began to swirl, becoming a funnel cloud, and then touched down, causing the ground to rumble. Sparks of demonic energy shot forth from the whirl wind, shocking the ground and tainting it, making the soil turn a dark shade of purple, almost black in color. The whirlwind began to part, opening from the middle, outwards. As the cloud parted, the figure of a tall Youkai became visible. The Youkai was very tall, just a shade beneath 7 ft, and he was very muscular. The Youkai had eyes that were a dark shade of emerald green, almost a piercing shade of green, his hair was long, stopping just above his calf muscles. His hair was a deep shade of midnight black, it almost looked blue in a certain shade of light. His ears were similar to Sesshoumaru's ears, pointed, elf-like in shape. He wore a black Kimono with red lighting-like designs that streaked in random directions across the body and sleeves of the Kimono shirt, his hakama pants were similar in color and design, a black base with red flame-dings at the bottoms that were outlined with a dark shade of gray.

His skin was pigmentation was tanned, and his face bore two bright red symbols, symbols that none of the three humans were familiar with. This Youkai's muscle tone was quit obviously superior to either InuYasha's, or Sesshoumaru's. This Youkai was covered with the cold, uncomfortable feel of death and immense amounts of power, evil power. An ominous feeling surrounded Kagome and the others, sending cold chills through their bodies. The Youkai smirked and then vanished in an aura of red flame, only to reappear directly in front of Kagome and the others. Miroku immediately unwrapped the rosary beads from his right hand and aimed it at the Youkai, attempting to draw him in. The tunnel immediately began to draw in everything within it's path, acting as a mini black hole and ripping rocks from the ground, uprooting bushes, shrubs, and tree's that were in it's area of suction. The Youkai growled and glared towards Miroku, his eyes glowing brightly and piercing into Miroku's eyes.

The Youkai then raised his hand, which was soon surrounded by a red glow. He held his hand up towards Miroku's wind tunnel, and slowly began to close his hand into a fist. As the Youkai began to close his hand, Miroku felt a searing pain shoot through his right hand and up through his arm and wind tunnel. Miroku began to yell in pain as his right hand began glowing bright red and his wind tunnel began to lose power, becoming weaker and weaker, until finally, it stopped all together. Miroku's body began to jerk and spasm in pain as it seemed his entire body was curling and cramping violently, sending Miroku into convulsions, making him collapse to the ground. Sango ran over to aid Miroku, but was stopped abruptly when her arm and shoulder was grasped tightly. Her eyes widened and she began to scream in pain as she felt razor sharp claws penetrate the flesh and the muscles of her shoulder. It felt as if the claws were searing hot metal sewing needles that had been jabbed with-out-warning into her body, and the sensation had caused her body to freeze, leaving her nearly paralyzed. Sango slowly began to sink to her knees, still screaming in pain as her shoulder bone felt like it was being crushed in the Youkai's iron-clad grip.

The Youkai the smirked and licked his fangs, before jerking Sango up into the air by her shoulder, and then tossing her away and into the trunk of a near-by tree, with Sango connecting, spine-first, against the tree, and dropping to the ground, motionless. Kagome moved to try and help Sango, taking a step towards her, yet stopping as the youkai was suddenly standing directly in front of her. Kagome drew back quickly, being startled by the Youkai who towered over her, casting his ominous and death-filled shadow over her. She took a few more steps back, then drew her arrow and notched it into her bow. Kagome quickly launched the arrow at the Youkai, expecting the power of her sacred arrow to be able to at least temporarily ward off the Youkai. The Youkai merely smirked and held his hand up, allowing the tip of the arrow to press to his palm, before his arm began to glow bright red, once again, and the arrow stopped in mid-flight. The tip of the arrow began to crack and crumble, the sacred, anti-Youkai aura which surrounded the arrow had already begun to dissipate and disperse, until the arrow was no more than a thin rod of wood, and it fell to the ground.

Kagome began to tremble in fear, thoughts of death racing through her mind as she watched the Youkai slowly approach her. Her heart began to race with fear as she shakily stepped backwards, only to have her legs fail her, resulting in her dropping to the ground on her knees. 'Is this it? Is this the end…am I really going to die here, without completing the Shikon no Tama? Without…..without InuYasha at my side..?' She was shaken from her thoughts as the Youkai grabbed her arm and jerked her up, making her arrows spill to the ground. The Youkai squeezed her arm tightly, making her drop her bow to the ground as well, leaving Kagome virtually defenseless. Kagome trembled and looked up fearfully into the eyes of the Youkai who was starring down at her, licking his fangs. He growled deep within his throat and then spoke in an aggressive tone. "My name is Hitogoroshi, you would do well to remember it, for it is the name of your future assassin.." The Youkai smirked and then took it upon himself to examine the human girl in his grasp.

He moved his face close to Kagome's and began to inhale her scent, sniffing animalistic ally along the neck of Kagome and over her hair. He moved his face back to hers, locking eyes with the terrified Kagome, and growling at her once more. He licked his fangs once more, then spoke to her again. "You're not bad, for a human…I just might keep you as my own for a while.. Or, at least until I get bored with raping you." He smirked once more, then tilted his head and lowered his head to Kagome's, pushing his lips into her own, and kissing her forcefully. His fangs caught to Kagome's bottom lip as he kissed her, and he then pulled back, his fangs cutting the edge of Kagome's lower lip as he drew his head back, making her lower lip trickle with blood. He ran his tongue over her lip, then his own, purring at the coppery taste of her blood on his tongue. He then released Kagome, letting her drop to the ground in a trembling heap. Tears had filled her eyes and she had begun to whimper and shake with fear. The Youkai, Hitogoroshi, then approached InuYasha and Sesshoumaru, taking the Tetsusaiga and then Tenseiga from the both of them.

Kagome slowly sat up, her voice trembling and her face streaked with tears as she spoke in her quivering voice. "Wh-what do you want from us? Why are you doing this?" Hitogoroshi smirked and walked back over to Kagome, taking Kagome's chin between his thumb and fore finger. Kagome tried to recoil from him, but was met with a harsh jerk forwards, making her look the Youkai in the eyes, her body still trembling and quaking violently. Hitogoroshi smirked and looked her over a bit more before giving her his answer. "I have no quarrel with either of these two, but they have what I need.. The Sword of Life, Tenseiga. And the Sword of Power, Tetsusaiga. I must have these two swords, for my plan to work.. Be sure to tell them this, once they've woken up." He flicked his tongue over Kagome's lips once more, making her recoil and tremble with fear and disgust once more. The Youkai, Hitogoroshi, then turned and took a few steps away from Kagome. He then waved his hand towards Miroku, making his convulsions stop and the pain in his arm and hand subside. He then did the same movement of his hand towards Sesshoumaru, InuYasha, and Kirara, causing them to revert to their previous, normal states. The three Youkai then fell unconscious to the ground.

Hitogoroshi then turned and smirked at Kagome once more, before his body was enveloped with a fiery red aura, and he vanished, leaving nothing but foot prints upon the ground, and a trembling, fear-struck Kagome.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

A little over an hour had passed since the attack of the Youkai, Hitogoroshi. InuYasha, Sesshoumaru, and Kirara had returned to their normal state of mind, having no memory past their transformations. Kagome had begun to dress the wounds of Sango and Miroku, bandaging Sango's ribs and her fore head. Miroku had several cuts along his right arm, the Youkai's energy alone had cut him. InuYasha had begun to worry about Kagome. For some reason, she was being very quiet, and she seemed very timid, as if she were afraid of her own shadow, yet she wouldn't tell InuYasha, or any of the others what was the matter with her, or what had happened and why Hitogoroshi hadn't harmed her. Kagome was in the middle of wrapping up Sango's shoulder in bandages, after having applied antibiotics to the wounds that had been left by Hitogoroshi's claws.

InuYasha approached her and was about to ask her to take a short walk with him, when the group's attention was directed towards the frantic tone of the voice of Jaken. Jaken was frantically pulling Aun and Uun towards the group, with Rin sprawled out upon the two-headed Youkai's back. Sesshoumaru immediately ran to Rin and lifted her off of the back of the twin-headed Youkai, holding her in his arms. Jaken was rambling on in a panicky tone, but Sesshoumaru wasn't listening. He was becoming more and more enraged as he detected the unfamiliar scent of another Youkai. It was the same scent and feel that he got right before the appearance of Hitogoroshi. What had he done to her? Sesshoumaru couldn't make out any distinguishing claw-marks or scratches on her, none that hadn't already been there from Rin's constant running about through bushes and what not. And yet the very scent of that Youkai upon Rin, was enough to make Sesshoumaru's blood boil, and his stomach turn.

Sesshoumaru turned and grabbed Jaken, lifting him up with one hand while he cradled Rin in his other arm. "Jaken, what happened to Rin, what did that Youkai do to her!?" Jaken gasped and squirmed within Sesshoumaru's Iron-Clad grip, trembling as he spoke. "Th-th-the Youkai, H-he took her into the forest, she was screaming, I found her laying unconscious upon the ground, her body was laid out in a most compromising situation, Milord! Do you think the Youkai may have…violated her?" Sesshoumaru snarled and threw Jaken away from himself, hurling him to the ground. Sesshoumaru slowly sat himself down, cradling the trembling little girl who was whimpering in his arms. Kagome sighed, lowering her head in shame, and then turning to look at InuYasha. She placed her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, clinging to him as she buried her face into his chest and began to sob quietly. "I-InuYasha. H-He said that h-he was going t-to rape me!" She hugged him tighter, squeezing as she continued to sob and tell him everything. "He grabbed me, a-and he said he w-was going to use the Tetsusaiga and the Tenseiga for some plan! Then he…. He….kissed me…!"

InuYasha wrapped his arms around Kagome and hugged her tightly, shushing her calmly as he held her in his embrace. "It's ok Kagome….I'm not going to let him hurt you again…I swear it, I will kill him with my bare hands!" Sesshoumaru stood, keeping Rin in his arms, and walked over to InuYasha and Kagome. He placed his hand to the shoulder of his younger brother and looked sternly towards him. "…InuYasha…We cannot continue to fight amongst ourselves… We're going to have to trust each other and work together, if we want to extract our revenge upon this, 'Hitogoroshi', as he calls himself." InuYasha only nodded in response, still hugging Kagome tightly as she sobbed heavily in his arms. "Yeah…I know.." InuYasha said solemnly as he ran his claws over Kagome's hair in an attempt to try and comfort her.

A few hours later, the group had begun walking towards the western lands, and towards Sesshoumaru's home. Partially, because Sesshoumaru insisted that Rin be taken back to the castle for safety, and partially because they would need a "base of operations," if they intended to take on this new threat, Hitogoroshi. Sesshoumaru had ordered several servants to tend to Rin and take her to her room, then ordered a number of others to prepare food for the group. Kagome, InuYasha, and the others were in awe of the size, and appearance of Sesshoumaru's palace. It was over twice the size of Kagome's school, and it was decorated with quite a high-class look. The walls were decorated with beautiful paintings of plants, mountains, forest scenery, and many other things. Kagome looked at the paintings as the group walked past them, stopping for a moment as she saw a painting of what looked like a very beautiful Kijo (Demoness), who she could only assume was Sesshoumaru's mother.

Sesshoumaru had noticed Kagome starring at the picture, and had stopped to wait for her to finish gawking at it. "Tell me, Kagome. Do you find my mother that attractive..?" Kagome blinked a bit, then blushed as she realized she had been starring for the past minute or so. She lowered her head a bit, saying in a quiet, slightly embarrassed voice. "Um, sorry, we can keep going, now." Sesshoumaru only nodded, then turned and continued to walk. He stopped in front of a particularly decorated door, and slid it open. He walked into the room, motioning for the others to follow him, and to sit down. Sesshoumaru sat at the head of the room and waited for the others to seat themselves upon the floor around him, before beginning to speak. "This room is normally reserved for war council and economic meetings, but for a situation as grave as this, I think it is only appropriate that it be used." The others nodded and awaited for Sesshoumaru to continue. Sango had sat herself between Kagome and Miroku, InuYasha was at the right side of Kagome, leaving Sango to Kagome's left, and Miroku to Sango's left. Shippou and Kirara had gone with Sesshoumaru's servants to Rin's room, having volunteered to watch over her with Jaken.

Sesshoumaru was silent for a moment, then began to speak once more. "We need to learn all that we can about this Hitogoroshi, before we can make any attempt to attack him. And even after we have gathered enough information, there is still the matter of how we will go about attacking him. With out the Tetsusaiga, InuYasha, you are at a great disadvantage, and are a liability. At the slightest sign of danger to your life, you will almost certainly become a Full Youkai, which could do us more damage than good." InuYasha lowered his head a bit, nodding some. "Yeah, I know that. But even if I had the Tetsusaiga, some how, he can still control us, but how? We need to figure out how he got you, myself, and Kirara under his control, with out us knowing it!" Sesshoumaru and the others nodded, then were silent once more, before Kagome spoke up. "Maybe it's because you're both Youkai…or at least part Youkai. It looked like it was harder for him to control you, InuYasha, than it was for him to control Sesshoumaru and Kirara. Maybe it's because of the Human half of you."

Sesshoumaru looked towards Kagome, perking an eye brow at the perception of the young human girl. "Yes, she is right. I couldn't sense the change in you while I was being affected, InuYasha. It must have been harder for him to take control of you, because you are a hanyou." Miroku turned towards InuYasha and looked at him for a moment, then looked over to Sesshoumaru and spoke. "Then their must be a way to use that to our advantage, don't you think so?" Sesshoumaru nodded slightly, then stood and cleared his throat. "Well, we know one thing for certain, and that is that InuYasha and myself cannot defeat this Youkai on our own. We will need allies, InuYasha. Even if that means working with others that we do not necessarily get along with." InuYasha growled quietly and muttered through clenched fangs. "Don't….say it…!" Kagome sighed and placed her hand to InuYasha's shoulder before speaking quietly. "It means, InuYasha, that you will have to try to get along with Kouga…We may need his help… As well as Kikyou's help…" 'Which means that I'll have to try to get along with Kikyou.' Kagome thought to herself.

After a moment of silence, Sesshoumaru said the one thing that all of them had begun to think about, but none of them were willing to admit. "..We also might want to….enlist the help of….Naraku, and his…allies." The group cringed with spite at the thought of having to work with that despicable hanyou. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for a moment, then walked towards the door, stopping in front of it. He turned his head and looked back at the others. "Well, we'll deal with that issue when it arises…in the mean time, I think it would be best if we all had something to eat, and get some sleep." The others nodded, then stood up and followed Sesshoumaru out of the room and back down the hall way.

A little over an hour later, the group had all eaten their dinner. Sesshoumaru had given them a brief tour of the palace, showing them the fairly-large, man-made hot springs that were in the rear of the palace. The palace also contained a small garden area, which was large enough for a person to walk around freely in. It consisted of small banzai tree's, Sakura tree's, small man-made creeks and streams and a small pond filled with various fishes, tiger lilies, and a small foot bridge which crossed over the pond and stream. Sango and Kirara seemed to take great interest in this area of the palace, and had decided they would stay there for a while. Miroku, how ever, was quite fascinated with the large library that Sesshoumaru had, which was filled with books and scrolls of all varieties. Miroku had soon found himself reading a book upon other religions aside from his own, which was of Buddha. He was particularly interested in the Christianity and Catholic religions, which he had only heard of from villages that were being visited by the Europeans.

Sesshoumaru had shown them one last part of his palace. A larger out-door garden, which was similar to the one he had shown to them before, but it was much larger. It contained full sized tree's, Sakura tree's and various others as well, the garden was surrounded and enclosed by large, decorative stone walls, which were lit by candles and lanterns which hung from the sides of the walls. The base of the walls were lined with shrubs and flowering plants. There was a fairly large, yet calm stream, which flowed through the center of the garden, and a foot bridge had been built over it for easier crossing ability. Sesshoumaru had decided it would be best it he left his brother and Kagome alone with one another for a while, and let them figure things out about what had happened, on their own. There was no roof to cover the large garden, which let the light of the stars, and the dim, bluish white light of the waning moon.

Kagome and InuYasha stood in the dim glow of the night, leaning against the side-railing of the foot bridge and looking into the water of the stream, watching as the fish swam quietly through the water, snapping at insects that would land on top of the water on occasion. InuYasha folded his arms atop the railing and leaned forwards, supporting his chest against his arms while Kagome stood grasping the railing with her hands. InuYasha could feel the tension that had settled on Kagome, he could practically hear her trembling from what had happened to her. He wanted more than anything to be able to take her fear away, but he didn't know what he could do. He sighed quietly and stood a bit straighter. He looked over to Kagome, who turned her head slightly to avoid eye contact, something InuYasha had noticed she had made a point of doing lately. 'What is she afraid of ?' InuYasha wondered, 'She doesn't think….she doesn't think I'm mad at her, does she?' he reached over and placed his hand over hers, gently closing his hand over her own, and spoke quietly to her. "Kagome… You don't have to try and avoid me. I'm not angry at you for anything." Kagome lowered her head slightly and glanced over at InuYasha's hand. She gently closed her hand, giving his fingers a small squeeze" "You…You're not?" She said in a shaky voice as she turned her head and looked at him.

InuYasha shook his head and smiled faintly to her. "Of course I'm not… I could never be mad at you, you….you mean everything to me, Kagome." Kagome felt her face begin to warm, her cheeks were turning a faint shade of red, which she was hoping wouldn't be noticeable through the dim glow of the star and moonlight. "InuYasha…I-" She was cut off when InuYasha wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. Her eyes widened slightly as her head was pressed to InuYasha's chest, and she tightly clenched his red haori top, squeezing it as she closed her eyes and nuzzled her head into his chest. InuYasha ran his claws slowly over her hair, sifting the raven-black locks of hair through his fingers and claws as he held her against him. "Kagome, you mean every thing to me, I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I would do anything to be able to go back and stop myself from transforming." InuYasha's voice had begun to tremble, and his eyes had begun to water as he hugged her tighter to himself. "I don't want to lose you Kagome, I'm afraid of you getting you hurt, and I might not be able to protect you." Kagome closed her eyes and sighed softly before tilting her head up and looking at InuYasha. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw that InuYasha had tears running down his cheeks, he wasn't sobbing, but he was crying, InuYasha was actually crying, and he wasn't trying to hide it from her.

Kagome slowly reached her hand up and brushed a tear from his cheek with her finger tips. "InuYasha…" She smiled faintly and raised herself onto the tips of her feet and pressed her lips to his cheek then slowly pulled back and smiled at him. "I love you, InuYasha.." InuYasha smiled and brushed his hand over her cheek before lowering his head towards Kagome's. Kagome raised herself slowly, closing her eyes and tilting her head as her lips met with InuYasha's, bringing them together in the bond of a passionate, and loving kiss.


End file.
